Saturday, June 30, 2007

Someone Just Got Older Again!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Greetings to Mark and Hannah, too!

Friday, June 29, 2007

Keyboard Pet Peeve No More!

The stock keyboard that came with my PC has this annoying extra button labeled "Macro" just beside the Right Shift button. However, due to this extra button, the Right Shift button is now shorter. Not only that, but the darned Macro button was mapped to type a Backslash! Whenever I miss the Right Shift button, I get something like "\please" or " \instead".


Earlier today, I have finally found a free utility to remap any keyboard button!

Enter AutoHotKey (http://www.autohotkey.com/).

It's a cool utility that manages all standard input devices: keyboard, mouse and joystick. With it, you can create macros and can auto-expand abbreviations (ala programming IDE templates). It runs on plain-text script files, but it also has a compiler which generates a script's corresponding executable (.exe) file that can be used on computers that don't have it installed.

Now that darned Macro key has been re-mapped to Right Shift. =D

So cool. I definitely have no other use for it, but it's still pretty cool. =)

Transformers Post

Well, I have yet to watch the new Transformers movie, so I had to quell the (surprisingly faint) fanboy urges in me by settling with the following online videos:

Costumes Transformers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akNJ6S2UqsE)

I already posted a (different) link to this video before, but this had to belong to a dedicated Transformers post. These are the BEST and COOLEST Transformers I have ever seen! It really looked like they took their time designing them, except for the first one -- and Starscream -- errr, maybe just Optimus Prime. I was surprised when I saw the transformation: the front of the legs unfolded forward, the torso also folded out! the arms locked into place at his side -- and he rolled! I silently chuckled in admiration when he had to shrug his shoulders to set his arms loose. =)

Real Transformer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STQ3nhXuuEM)

A video of a remote-controlled car which suddenly opens up and transforms into a two-legged humanoid robot that walks! And it can transform back into a car, too!

Robo-One 9: Robot Competition - LAYERED-X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0m_cCP1wn94)

Its description reads:
One of the most surprising robots that appeared at the 9th Robo-One competition held here in Tokyo on March 18-19th, 2006, was LAYERED-X developed by Asurada. Its unique design allows it to reconfigure and transform itself into some amazing shapes. At first it looks like a short tower, then becomes a carousel, then a walking spider, then into a tall biped battle robot. It can even transform an arm into a new leg and keep on fighting. Really amazing. For the latest robot news, information, hacks, photos, and videos with special on-site coverage from Japan, see Robots Dreams at http://www.robots-dreams.com
Japanese ingenuity.

Robot Chicken Clip - Optimus Prime gets Prostate Cancer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWYOQoui6Ks)

I've watched a couple of other Robot Chicken episodes, and it's actually cool!

The Rude Awakening of Optimus Prime (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq1_6D9QS9Y)

Description:
Optimus Prime is brought back to life in the year 2006 to find that many things have changed since his death.
Totally hilarious mutilation and re-dub of the Generation-2 episode where Optimus Prime was resurrected.

Not The Usual Way..

..of link-spamming. =p

---

The Most Beautiful Machine (http://www.kugelbahn.ch/sesam_e.htm)

Funny! It's a trunk/chest, and when you press the button that opens it, a while later, a prosthetic arm/hand comes out and closes it! Would like to see this in a "haunted" house.. =D

If Fire Were Water (http://www.boredstop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=37)

Really cool pics showing stuff usually afire, now a-water. =p I really liked the high-level of detail, especially the fine ripples. You could easily imagine the water flowing (upward, in this case). The condensation on the Zippo lighter was a nice touch. =)

Is the Sun from another galaxy? (http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2007/06/27/is-the-sun-from-another-galaxy/)

This article debunks the article from a previous link I posted (http://viewzone.com/milkyway.html) claiming that our Solar System actually came from another galaxy, and the Milky Way just stole it. =p

Pit Bull vs. Porcupine (http://www.boredstop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=122&Itemid=31)

Can't add any more words. =p

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Link Flood

Ten predictions about climate change that have come true
(http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article1984755.ece)

Scientists Now Know: We're Not From Here! -- Solar System not originally part of the Milky Way Galaxy?!
(http://viewzone.com/milkyway.html)

Cool designs
(http://www.tranism.com/weblog/_design/7.html)

OpenSky 2.0 Exhibition -- Nausicaa's glider, for real!
(http://www.tranism.com/weblog/2007/02/opensky_20_exhi.html)

Geek culture -- misc pics
(http://thirdeyedumb.com/2007/04/geek_culture_awesome.html)

I Like The Way you Think -- old joke, but still funny =p
(http://www.thealders.net/humour/school/sch04.html)

Enunciation is so important
(http://humour.200ok.com.au/image_toyoda.html)

First Atomic Clock Wristwatch
(http://www.leapsecond.com/pages/atomic-bill/)

Proposed Democratic Military Cutbacks
(http://www.keithwhite.us/cutback.html)

Demotivational Posters
(http://www.theburningbiscuit.com/Demotivational%20Posters.html)

Tetris cartoon
(http://www.kenart.net/misc_tetris.htm)

Read Print -- free online library
(http://www.readprint.com/)

In Case of Zombies..
(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2736/e851293f472c3cd62ff7a37fm0.jpg)

http://www.freetechbooks.com/

Crazy Japanese Pitching Technique
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=6886&select=All)

Coolest Transformers Costumes Ever!!11
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=5819&select=All)


Can you believe this is a painting?
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=4813&select=All)


How awesome is this for getting a test back from a professor??
(http://www.linkinn.com/wiki_101.php?add=wiki&id=2299&select=All)

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Saturday, June 23, 2007

You Said It Was Dead!

Yup, monitor's still dead. Still posting at home, though.

How?

TV output, FTW!

TV output!

...

Well, not for the win.. it was just a nice save. TV resolution is CRAPPY! I'm typing in 640x480 and the text is still blurry!

Twist!

Hokay.

This post is a bit overdue.

*ehem*

My birthday almost began badly. Monday, June 18, I wasn't able to get out of the office early. June 19 was a holiday. Despite the announcement that we were still requested to go to work, they wouldn't be able to force me. So, our boss just told me to finish some stuff, just so it could be put under QA during the holiday. I only finished at around 10:30pm.

I went home a bit spent and, as I said, my birthday almost began with me feeling not-so-good. Fortunately, I was already talking with Kei on the phone since before midnight. So, I started my birthday with a smile on my face. :)

Tuesday, June 19. My day. :) I woke up at around 9:30am. Finalized some of my plans for the morning, in my head. I got up and out to the dining room/kitchen to see the table already set.

After (a late) breakfast, I turned the PC on. Surfed and chat a bit. The monitor display was flickering. Ma says that she would go next on the PC. Pa called for me, so I momentarily switched to Ma's user account. Had a lengthy conversation with Pa. It was nice. Even before our conversation ended, Ma said that the monitor blacked-out. When I went back to the PC, I found that the monitor was indeed dead. Minor set-back. I was pondering whether to buy the LCD monitor that I had wanted to get since two weeks before. I decided that it would depend on the time I would be able to go to Metro Manila.

The dead monitor wasn't really a big deal. I began preparing to go out to buy my lunch treat. I was thinking: shorts or jeans? slippers or shoes? I settled to wearing shorts and slippers. I went out and walked to Pannie's, my current choice of barber shop (Pannie's is a beauty parlor, but they had barbers on one side. That day and time, there was only one barber, and two others were waiting in line. I had no time to waste, so I went out and walked some more heading for the BPI branch at Lopez Avenue. I withdrew some cash, not too much -- I thought that, if I would need to, I could withdraw some more when I get to Makati.

From BPI, I rode a jeep to KFC. I was surprised to see a lot of people in KFC. Lots of well-off students nowadays. I bought a Fantastic Four bucket meal, and hurriedly headed home. I got on a jeep to Bayan with hardly any passengers, so I could put the food on the seat. However, starting from LB Square, the jeep gradually picked up more passengers. I was sitting behind the driver and, eventually, the jeep was filled-up. The guy to my right kept shifting. When the jeep stopped for a while at Junction, I checked my right hip pocket for my wallet. It was still there. My cellphone and coin purse were on my left side. I was distracted, passing several passengers' fare to the driver, and their change back to them. Suddenly, the guy to my right called for the jeep to stop in front of the market, the jeep in the middle of the road, caught between changing lanes. He quickly got off -- he hadn't even paid! I was distracted once again when I had to pass someone else's fare. I shifted in my seat a bit and I noticed: my wallet was GONE! I looked on the seat, looked under the seat. Quite panicked, I also got off the jeep. I thought I saw him ride behind a motorcycle. I scanned the passing jeeps. The motorcycle I was suspicious of moved. I looked at the passenger, and it wasn't the guy I was looking for. Still, I followed the motorcycle, when it went slowly. It stopped in front of a nearby pawnshop, where the passenger went to. I stood in front of the motorcycle, looking around, but I kept looking back to the motorcycle's driver. He had a bandanna wrapped over his face, so I got more suspicious when he intentionally avoided looking in my direction. I almost wanted to confront him. I weighed my options and I finally gave up. I walked home, stomping my feet, driving my umbrella to the ground every other step.

On my way home, I tried to recall the contents of my wallet. I kept mumbling, "Company ID, Suki card, Company ID, Suki card, Company ID, school ID, Company ID, ..." I was simply furious!

When I got home, I called Kei. After a while, she already had my ATM account blocked, and she had already calmed me down. I will not have my day ruined any more than it was!

Fortunately, my habit of keeping money in several places kicked in earlier. Back in KFC, I placed the change for the bucket meal in another pocket. It was quite a relief! I could still meet with Kei in Makati!

My mis-adventures ends there! The rest of my day was GRRRRR-EAT! :D

Everything was Kei's treat: the expensive (but worthwhile) dinner, the tickets to Fantastic Four and the fare on our way to their place. She even loaned me some cash for the week! Well, the movie tickets were a loan, too, since we usually share expenses on our dates. :p

My birthday? It was one of the HAPPIEST EVER! :D

To quote Cel's txt greeting:
"Birthdays are healthy for you. The more you have, the longer you live. Ü"

Profound, yeah! :p

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

B-Day

Pickpocket!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Am I Too Old?

Am I already washed-up as a developer?

I had almost the entire day to spend on my PC.

I played with Ubuntu a bit. I finally got WarCraft 3 to work fine with Wine. Before, it didn't render well, and was very slow. It turned out that 3D acceleration wasn't turned on. I don't know why I thought that it would be enabled by default. Now I know what to do at the newly set-up Linux box at the office. =p

For most of the day, I decided to actually do something productive with my PC. I wanted a PC at home primarily because I wanted to have free PC time to learn new stuff as a developer and maybe do a project on the side, if I feel like it. However, since I bought the PC, all I did with it was read comics and manga, watch stuff, play and chat. I didn't even get back to blogging regularly.

So, I started with reading about the very popular Spring Framework. I have already been introduced to its core concepts, and I can pretty much describe what it can do. However, what I knew was very shallow. I wouldn't be able to visualize a project using it, much less build one. Right now, I'm still at the level of introductions to its core components. I have four pieces of reading material open, since whenever I get stuck in a paragraph, I look for another article which I hope would be simpler to read -- but, alas, I would get stuck in a paragraph as well.

It's getting frustrating, because I don't think the problem is about Spring, but instead about me learning new technical stuff.

But, for now..

Why can't I think in Spring??

Jackie Chan and His Master Plan..

Yeah!

Funny commercial and song! =D

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Weirdness

Since Mark RUDEly tagged me with this meme (weird pala, ha..), I'm reluctantly (but secretly eagerly) complying. :p

Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says you are tagged in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

  1. As much as possible, when eating out, I make sure that I wouldn't order meals already ordered by my companions. If I already wanted something on the menu, I try to shout out my order first before someone else does.

  2. I used to like telling inside jokes -- where the only person "inside" is me. Worse, I leave my audience hanging and refuse to explain the joke while visibly chuckling.

  3. Sad endings never make me cry -- happy endings do.

  4. I have to eat that last grain of rice, wipe away that last smear of sauce and scoop up that thin remaining layer of soup on my plate.

  5. I am an extreme packrat. I have to think thrice before throwing something that can be kept away. I'm trying to get over this -- around half-a-year ago, I was able to throw away all the ATM receipts that I collected since college. I still keep some of my grade school notebooks, though.

  6. Although my stuff looks like a mess to someone else, everything is in order!


The tagging stops here (ala JAm)!

Chuck Norris For President!

Chuck Norris For President!

And:

"If I am elected president" by Chuck Norris himself!

Yeba.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

What The Heck?!

I was on my way to work and, as I've mentioned before, I am now somewhat too cautious when trying to cross the road.

So, there I was, waiting for the traffic to ebb. I noticed that the far side of the road was already clear, despite the near side still being packed with a variety of vehicles. I waited for some more, and during a lull in traffic, I crossed half-the-road.

I took a peek to the right and, indeed, it was clear. I step over the line in the middle of the road when, suddenly, I had this strange feeling and I looked to my left -- and I had to step back, with a grimace and a silent curse in my head:

Damn you counter-flowing motorcycles (with a passenger, even)! Damn you all to hell!

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Cartoon Nostalgia

Transformers, tapos eto:

"Warner purrs for Thundercats"

Nabanggit pa yung He-Man remake na gagawin. Ayus.